Research & Development Incentives

What is the R&D tax credit?

The R&D tax credit is a valuable tax-based incentive that is designed to encourage investment in R&D by companies in Ireland. The credit operates by giving you up to 30 percent of your R&D expenditure (both revenue and capital) for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2024 in a tax credit or in cash (subject to certain conditions being met).

The credit rate applies to qualifying R&D expenditure incurred by the company and is available in addition to the normal 12.5% trading corporation tax deduction for R&D.

The relief is generally available for R&D activities carried out in a wide variety of science and technology areas such as software development, engineering, food and beverage production, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, financial services, agriculture and horticulture.

R&D tax credit practice one team diagram

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R&D Tax Credit claim service

A claim for an R&D tax credit involves identifying and documenting qualifying R&D activities and associated qualifying expenditure in a manner that meets the strict requirements of the legislation and Revenue Guidance.

Our market leading R&D Tax Credit practice has been at the forefront of this area since the inception of the R&D tax credit in 2004. Our team has the tax, financial, and scientific technical skills to assist companies—regardless of size or sector—in preparing their claims through tried and tested methodologies and processes. We aim to ensure that your claim is complete, correct and will withstand a Revenue audit.

Stages involved in preparing an R&D tax credit claim

Feasibility study
Detailed preparation of claim
Submit R&D tax credit claim to Revenue
Audit preparation/support

Revenue audit support

In our experience, Revenue is auditing a high percentage of R&D tax credit claims and is taking an increasingly hard line with respect to issues arising from audits of claims. As a result, we prepare all claims on the premise that they should be expected to withstand a rigorous Revenue audit.

KPMG provides wide-ranging audit support for clients whose claims we have prepared and for companies who have claimed the R&D tax credit without our initial assistance. We have successfully managed a very large number of Revenue audits (with respect to all aspects of the audit: scientific technical, financial and tax technical) and have an excellent understanding of Revenue's processes in this area.

Examples of claims

Providing R&D tax credit services to an extensive number of clients since 2004

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R&D tax credits FAQ

Answers to common questions asked about the R&D tax credit

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Revenue audit FAQ

Read answers to the most common questions asked about Revenue audits of R&D tax credit claims

KPMG’s Grants Office

Streamlining the grant application process for clients

Why KPMG for R&D?

Longest-standing R&D incentives practice

Most Audits closed

Most projects assessed

Most experience gained

Highest client retention rate

Largest expenditure assessed

KPMG’s R&D Incentives Practice was established in 2004, when the R&D tax credit was first introduced. We are Ireland’s largest, longest-established and most-experienced R&D Tax Credit practice with two fulltime partners specialising in this complex area.

KPMG’s R&D Incentives practice is a multidisciplinary practice comprising of highly trained finance, tax professionals, scientists and engineers who exclusively work on R&D incentives – ensuring quality advice is provided.

Our SME and large company teams have filed R&D tax credit claims for businesses of every size and scale and in all industry sectors. We engage regularly with all relevant stakeholders, including taxpayers and Government, and we have significant experience of Revenue’s approach to auditing R&D tax credit claims in Ireland.

Find out more about our practice

Do you have an R&D-related query?

Contact us. If you would like to request an R&D tax credits brochure, require information on how we can assist your company, or would like us to call you directly to discuss your circumstances, please get in touch with Ken Hardy or Damien Flanagan of our R&D incentives team.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Ken Hardy

Partner

KPMG in Ireland

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Damien Flanagan

Partner

KPMG in Ireland

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Download our PDF guides

More about our R&D Incentives practice

An eligible claim requires a well-structured, detailed, and pragmatic review of all activities and costs. KPMG’s R&D Incentives practice is a multidisciplinary practice comprising highly trained tax and finance professionals and chartered engineers working solely on R&D tax credit claims – this is all that we do!

We are Ireland’s largest, longest-established and most-experienced R&D Tax Credit practice, and are the only partner-led practice in Ireland.

Founded in 2004

KPMG’s R&D Incentives practice was founded when the credit was introduced in 2004; we were the first Big 4 firm to establish a dedicated R&D tax credit practice.
SME & large company teams

We have dedicated SME and large company teams within the practice to help ensure our service is tailored to our clients’ needs.
Our global network

We are a founding member of KPMG’s global R&D Incentives practice, an international network of specialist R&D practices with over 300 professionals working full-time on R&D tax incentives claims; we also lead the Europe, Middle East and Africa R&D Incentives Practice.

Compliant with Revenue

We make sure all our claims are Revenue audit-ready, working with clients to take appropriate tax and technological positions that satisfy Revenue’s guidelines.
Integrated team

We are the only Big 4 firm in Ireland to have a truly integrated team of full-time tax professionals and full-time engineers, of any material size, working solely on R&D tax credit claims.
Grants Incentives practice

We have a dedicated R&D Grants Incentives practice. By taking a holistic approach to R&D incentives in Ireland, this can lead to significantly reduced R&D costs.
Highly qualified team

Our scientific/engineering professionals have 3 PhDs, 9 Master’s Degrees, and 15 Bachelor’s Degrees in fields of science, engineering and technology.
Internationally qualified

Internationally, our scientific/engineering professionals have 18 PhDs, 17 Master’s Degrees, and 64 Bachelor’s Degrees in fields of science, engineering and technology.
Plant & machinery

Our Capital Allowances/Tax Depreciation team (consisting of in-house chartered surveyors and chartered accountants) can help ensure our clients optimise not only their capital allowances and scientific research allowances, but also the plant, machinery and buildings expenditure that forms part of their R&D tax credit claims.

Published nationally

KPMG’s R&D Incentives practice authored Ireland’s only specialist book on this subject, “The Professionals Guide to R&D Incentives and related reliefs”, published by the Irish Tax Institute.
Engaging with Government

We take an active role in the ongoing development of the R&D tax credit regime, frequently engaging with key stakeholders, including government and the private sector, to share views on current R&D tax issues.
Annual survey

Our annual survey in collaboration with IRDG, Ireland’s Innovation Index captures insights from key stakeholders, detailing strengths and areas for improvement in Ireland’s RDI sector.
Active in the industry

We work with Ireland’s leading industry associations and innovation centres, and we support Ireland’s innovative sectors by way of event sponsorships, information seminars, and the regular provision of “health checks” and assessments of potential eligibility.

Research & Development Incentives

What is the R&D tax credit?